Rivian configurator coming "Late Summer"

[electruck]

The only explanations I can think of are

A) They’re still mucking about trying to make some overly flashy “Full 3D AR” nonsense

B) They still haven’t finalised their 3rd party suppliers and therefore don’t want to put out a configurator with options that may not actually be available later

In either case, for the love of all that is holy Rivian, at LEAST tell us all the colours and let us put them on a little 2D picture of the vehicles

They could also be waiting for production spec vehicles to come off the pilot line to get actual photo/video media for the configurator instead of having everything be computer generated.

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[Shzeph]

Like, maybe? But that’s still wayyyyyy more effort than needs to be put into a configurator. Every other manufacturer is doing just fine with CG configurators, and most even have little 360-degree view modes you can use

It just seems like it would be more beneficial to put out a normal configurator and appease the people rather than make us wait god only knows how much longer for some fancy thing nobody asked for

 

[Jehorton]

Makes me believe it’s not the software issue they are having trouble with and more of spec vehicles mentioned above.

 

[electruck]

The longer they defer making a commitment on pricing, the better off they are. If they commit to pricing too early and then suppliers raise rates or raw material prices go up, then they eat the difference which is something they can't afford as a startup. And if battery prices drop a little then they can pass that savings along to us.

I know we're all anxious but getting access to the configurator isn't going to park a vehicle in our driveways any sooner.

 

[Shzeph]

Oh I know. Regardless of my complaining, at the end of the day I still believe in the company, and I’ll still put in my order when the time comes.

It’s just cathartic to complain about things

 

[whyasky]

They have said that the configuration will help them determine the delivery timing. This leads me to believe that both pricing and options will be final when they release them configurator. I agree it makes sense for them to to hold off on finalizing both of these items as long as possible.

By the way, anyone have a view on when production lines actually have to start running for deliveries to begin in June? Is this the kind of thing where they need it going for a month before starting deliveries or does the first one just come off the line and immediately deliver?

 

[DucRider]

They may also be waiting for production spec vehicles to be produced and tested so they can put a hard number on the range of the various pack sizes.

 

[azbill]

If you haven't already you might want to check out these threads. IIRC there were a fair amount of opinions expressed.

• First look at Rivian Electrochromic Roof in action
• R1S roof options: glass, 2-piece removable composite, standard fixed roof
• Thoughts on Glass Roof?

Living in the hot Arizona desert, I just cannot imagine getting a glass roof of any kind. I a leaning toward a fixed standard roof, but might consider the removable one.

 

[jjwolf120]

TWO and a bit years

Not quite two years. Announced in November of 2018. It just seems longer than it actually is.

 

[RforRivian]

So after putting down my deposit last week I decided email Rivian and see if I could squeeze any tidbit of new info from them. I asked about when reservation holders can expect to hear more about the following things... Service plans, warranty coverage, configurator, and test drives. I don't think any of this is new info but I thought I'd share in case anyone was wondering. Here is what I received back.

TL;DR
We'll hear more about the...

• Configurator: "Later this year"
• Warranty: "Soon"
• Service plan: "Soon"
• Test drives: "In the near future"

Full email below.

"Thanks for reaching out, congratulations on your recent R1T preorder, we appreciate your support! The next milestone for you to look forward to is the launch of our configurator later this year. Within the configurator, you’ll be able to customize your R1T with your favorite color, trim level, battery pack options, and more. You’ll also be able to see pricing and the delivery window for your vehicle.

We're looking forward to sharing more details on our warranties and service network with our community soon! We want to overdeliver for our customers when it comes to service. We are benchmarking the best programs in the industry and owe it to you to sweat the details.

As far as test drives, we'd love to get you behind the wheel of an R1T! Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, all in-person events have been postponed until further notice to safeguard our community and employees' health and wellbeing. We are looking forward to getting on the road and meeting our community again when it's safe to do so! We'll be sharing more details on our test drive program in the near future!"

 

[Babbuino]

So after putting down my deposit last week I decided email Rivian and see if I could squeeze any tidbit of new info from them. I asked about when reservation holders can expect to hear more about the following things... Service plans, warranty coverage, configurator, and test drives. I don't think any of this is new info but I thought I'd share in case anyone was wondering. Here is what I received back.

TL;DR
We'll hear more about the...

• Configurator: "Later this year"
• Warranty: "Soon"
• Service plan: "Soon"
• Test drives: "In the near future"

Full email below.

"Thanks for reaching out, congratulations on your recent R1T preorder, we appreciate your support! The next milestone for you to look forward to is the launch of our configurator later this year. Within the configurator, you’ll be able to customize your R1T with your favorite color, trim level, battery pack options, and more. You’ll also be able to see pricing and the delivery window for your vehicle.

We're looking forward to sharing more details on our warranties and service network with our community soon! We want to overdeliver for our customers when it comes to service. We are benchmarking the best programs in the industry and owe it to you to sweat the details.

As far as test drives, we'd love to get you behind the wheel of an R1T! Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, all in-person events have been postponed until further notice to safeguard our community and employees' health and wellbeing. We are looking forward to getting on the road and meeting our community again when it's safe to do so! We'll be sharing more details on our test drive program in the near future!"

Thanks for the info! I keep bugging them with different questions once a week , so I'm getting used to their soon response.

 

[Shzeph]

I too emailed Rivian, mostly out of boredom, just to see if I could get them to slip up about the configurator. No such luck, unfortunately, but I did get a slightly different reply than RforRivian.

The response email I got said:

“We're still tracking toward the launch of our vehicle configurator later this year! We'll be reaching out with more information soon as configurator is right around the corner.”

So the typical “later this year” but with an added “right around the corner”

What does it mean? Only the car gods know for sure, I think

 

[skyote]

These types of generic answers are getting old. Set reasonable expectations, then meet or exceed them.

 

[jjwolf120]

What does it mean? Only the car gods know for sure, I think

I think it is probably but not necessarily bad news for the later this summer hopes for the configurator. I would say right around the corner would be 1 month or less. The language is all deliberately imprecise.

 

[kanundrum]

January 2021 then, Hopefully I will be surprised and not disappointed lol.

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